Staff Bios
Michelle Millman
Chief Executive Officer
Michelle Millman is the CEO of Cancer Pathways and brings decades of journalism and cancer community outreach experience with her. Michelle first walked into the Clubhouse in 2009 just after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She immediately felt the warmth, love and community within those walls, having met founder Anna Gottlieb that day! Since then, Michelle has spent countless hours hosting charity events & helping raise millions of dollars for cancer causes.
Michelle spent more than three decades as a journalist in the great Pacific Northwest – the majority of it in Seattle – waking up in the middle of the night to bring the news of the day to her loyal morning viewers.
Some of her best memories include pulling 6.7 g’s flying with the US Navy Blue Angels, traveling to cover the Seahawks first Super Bowl appearance, and then co-hosting both the Sounders and Seahawks victory parades years later.
Michelle grew up in Renton and is a proud UW alumni. Her husband spent decades of leadership in the fire/EMS service and is now serving as Woodinville’s mayor. They have two sons who are pursuing their dreams in medical school and law enforcement. In her spare time, Michelle loves walking, running, wine tasting in Woodinville & seeing her “boys” as often as she can.
As a two time cancer survivor, Michelle is overjoyed to be leading the amazing staff at Cancer Pathways. Together, they will work to build upon the incredible legacy Anna created.
Founder and Advisor
Anna Gottlieb is the Founder of Gilda’s Club Seattle and former Executive Director of Cancer Pathways. In 1995, she saw an article in People Magazine about the first Gilda’s Club opening in New York City. Inspired by the family focus and the humor that thrived within a cancer support community, she was convinced that this wonderful program was needed in Seattle. Anna has spent the last 25 years pursuing this dream and providing free programs for all of those touched by cancer. Through her work and leadership at Cancer Pathways, her organization has touched the lives of over half a million people across the state of Washington and nationwide.
Prior to founding Gilda’s Club Seattle, Anna earned her BA in Social Sciences from Ohio State University and served for a year as a VISTA volunteer in Little Rock, Arkansas. She then made her way to the University of Oregon where she became a Graduate Teaching Fellow. During this time, she earned a Masters in Public Administration and International Affairs with an emphasis in health care. This led her to Washington DC, where her vast experience in public service has earned titles including Presidential Management Intern, Management Analyst in the Office of Special Investigations, Legislative Analyst with the U.S. Senate Criminal Justice Subcommittee, and Program Analyst for the National Juvenile Justice Program. After her time working for the Department of Justice, Anna transitioned to life in Seattle, where she went to work for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on the largest Women’s Health Initiative in the country.
In November of 2023, Anna stepped into the role of Founder and Advisor to support the organization’s new CEO, Michelle Millman. Anna will continue providing leadership and guidance for the programs at Cancer Pathways while Millman gets settled.
Maria Carbullido
Chief of Finance and Operations
Maria has been in the banking industry since 2003, starting her banking career as a part-time teller and served in several aspects of Retail Deposit and Operations, as well as Loan Production and Operations. Maria is a graduate of the Consumer Lending and Compliance Program, Retail Management Program and Executive Development Program through the Washington Bankers Association and Business Leadership Academy through Pacific Lutheran University and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.
Maria resides in Pierce County with her husband and two boys. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and volunteering in the community – including volunteering with Cancer Pathways since 2012. Maria was recognized by South Sound Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022. She is thrilled to bring her knowledge, experience and connection from the financial industry to Cancer Pathways, as it continues to grow and help families near and far.
Maria’s favorite quote: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”― Jane Goodall
Debra Dawson
Development and Events Director
Deb joined Cancer Pathways staff in March 2023, but has been involved with the organization for many years. Her background is in Human Resources, Marketing, and Administration before dedicating her time volunteering with several local and global organizations. She has over 15 years experience working with non-profits and is honored to be a part of the team.
Oncology Social Work Director
Jana Mastrogiovanni, MS, LPC
Program Manager, Cancer Happens
Program Manager, Community Education
Lauren joined Cancer Pathways in March 2021 and serves as the program manager of community education. She is the creator of and voice behind the Encompassing Cancer podcast. Lauren has extensive experience planning and implementing educational programs for healthcare professionals, school-aged children, and people living with chronic diseases. Lauren previously worked at the American Lung Association in Atlanta, Georgia where her work focused on tobacco prevention and cessation. She is passionate about chronic disease prevention, social justice, and working to reduce health inequities. Lauren attended the University of Georgia where she received her Masters in Public Health in 2019. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, skiing/snowboarding, and reading a good book.
Paige Hansen-Shankar
Program Manager, Cancer Unwrapped
Paige works on special projects and has been a longtime volunteer at Cancer Pathways. She has served on the Board of Trustees at The Meridian School, served on the Parent Guardian Association at her daughter’s school and also volunteered at Team Survivor Northwest. Prior to getting her Certificate of Non-Profit Management, Paige worked in Human Resources at Adobe. Her passion has always been to make the world a better place by serving others and she is excited to bring a wealth of experience in human resources, marketing and administration to Cancer Pathways. Paige has a B.A. in Public Administration from Miami University and a Certificate of Non Profit Management from the University of Washington.
Morgan Weidner
Program Manager, Camp and Family Program
Morgan supports a number of programs at Cancer Pathways, with a focus on member services and in-person programming. She also serves as Assistant Director for Camp Sparkle and is a health educator for the Cancer Happens program. Prior to Cancer Pathways, Morgan coordinated graduate medical education trainings and conferences in the field of reproductive health. She is passionate about ensuring all people have access to quality healthcare. Morgan graduated from Scripps College with a Bachelor’s in Politics with a concentration in health policy and is trained as a holistic nutritionist. Outside of work, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, teaching herself new crafts, and seeing live music.
Terri Weeding
Community Outreach Manager, Inland Northwest
Terri joined Cancer Pathways in March 2023 and serves as the Community Outreach Manager for the Inland Northwest. Terri’s 10+ years of community health education experience includes working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Papua New Guinea, delivering chronic disease and cancer prevention education in Arizona, and outreach and partnership development in Eastern Washington. Recently, Terri supported her beautiful mother through her two year lung cancer journey, functioning as her care advocate and navigator. Terri is an avid vegetable gardener, enjoys daily river walks with her labrador, and loves to read and write. She volunteers as a wisdom writing instructor and as a Laughter Yoga leader.
Glenn Rockowitz
Social Work and Outreach Manager
Glenn has been serving as a clinical advocate for cancer patients of all ages for over a decade and is currently pursuing his PhD in psycho-oncology. Glenn, himself a four-time cancer survivor, believes emotionally supportive environments are essential to the healing process and prioritizes making such sacred spaces available to all community members from diagnosis to long-term survivorship. As a former comedian and SNL writer, Glenn also strongly believes in the healing powers of laughter and tries to infuse humor into all emotional support settings. Above all else, he is dedicated to the original Gilda’s Club philosophy that no one should face cancer alone.
Maureen Gardner, MA, MEd
Donor Relations Manager
As Donor Relations Manager, Maureen focuses on donor outreach, communication, and stewardship. This includes email campaigns, in-kind community partnerships, annual giving, workplace giving, online appeals, and helping with events. Before joining Cancer Pathways, Maureen worked for fifteen years as a middle & high school educator and writing specialist. She has her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from The University of Portland, her Masters in English Literature from Georgetown University, and her Masters in Teaching from the University of Washington. Maureen is thrilled to bring her passion for relationship-building, writing, and community engagement to the Cancer Pathways’ development team.
Group Facilitators
Ellen Bovarnick, MBA, MSW, MHP, LICSW
Support Group Facilitator
Since 2010, Ellen has facilitated groups for caregivers, the bereaved and cancer survivors for Gilda’s Club, now Cancer Pathways. In addition, she is a licensed therapist in private practice. Her focus is on supporting people in navigating the unique challenges in their lives. She draws on her training and 20+ years of experience in many treatment techniques including family systems, psychodynamic, gestalt, transactional analysis, EFT, mindfulness, bereavement and cognitive behavioral therapies in her work. She has specialized skills in working with individuals, couples and families dealing with cancer and helps them cope with the stresses that the diagnosis, treatment and/or aftermath of a chronic illness can bring.